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Comparison of the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of fin-and-tube heat exchangers having smooth or herringbone wave fins on 12.7 mm outer diameter tubes

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Abstract

For cooling or heating coils of a building air conditioning system, large diameter tubes (over 12.7 mm) are frequently used. Furthermore, common enhanced geometries of the coils are wave fins. In this study, heat transfer and pressure data were obtained from samples having smooth wave or herringbone wave fins. The samples had a range of tube row (one to four) and three different fin pitches. Especially, the tube diameter of the samples was rather large (12.7 mm). Result showed that the highest j factor was obtained at a one row configuration. However, the thermal conductance (= ηohoAo) showed a different trend to that of the j factor. At a low velocity, the thermal conductance of the one row sample was the highest. At higher velocity, however, the trend was reversed. The reason was explained by introducing the fin efficiency. The j and f factors of the smooth wave fin samples were higher (0 % to 31 % for the j factor and 11 % to 25 % for the f factor) than those of the herringbone wave fin samples. The present data were compared existing correlations.

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Abbreviations

A :

Heat transfer area, m2

c p :

Specific heat, J/kg · K

C r :

Heat capacity ratio (dimensionless)

D :

Diameter, m

D h :

Hydraulic diameter, m

f :

Airside friction factor (dimensionless)

f :

Tube-side friction factor (dimensionless)

h :

Heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 · K

j :

Colburn j factor (dimensionless)

k :

Thermal conductivity W/m · K

K c :

Contraction coefficient (dimensionless)

K e :

Expansion coefficient (dimensionless)

ṁ :

Mass flow rate, kg/s

N :

Number of tube row (dimensionless)

NTU :

Number of transfer units (dimensionless)

P d :

Waffle depth, m

P l :

Longitudinal tube pitch, m

P t :

Transverse tube pitch, m

Pr:

Prandtl number (dimensionless)

Re:

Reynolds number (dimensionless)

R eq :

Equivalent radius, m

r c :

Tube radius, m

s :

Fin spacing, m

t :

Tube wall thickness, m

T :

Temperature, K

t f :

Fin thickness, m

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 · K

V :

Frontal air velocity, m/s

V max :

Velocity based on the minimum flow area, m/s

V o :

Heat exchanger volume, m3

x f :

Half the waffle spacing, m

ΔP :

Pressure loss, Pa

η :

Fin efficiency (dimensionless)

η o :

Surface efficiency (dimensionless)

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

μ :

Dynamic viscosity, kg/m · s

ν :

Kinematic viscosity, m2/s

σ :

Contraction ratio (dimensionless)

a:

Air

c:

Heat exchanger core

i:

Tube-side

in:

Inlet

f:

Fin

m:

Mean

max:

Maximum

min:

Minimum

o:

Outside

out:

Outlet

t:

Tube

w:

Water

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon, Korea

    Nae-Hyun Kim

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  1. Nae-Hyun Kim
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Correspondence to Nae-Hyun Kim.

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Nae-Hyun Kim is a Professor in School of Mechanical System Engineering, Univerity of Incheon. He received Ph.D. from Penn State University in 1989. His interest includes heat transfer enhancement, boiling and condensation in minichannels, flow distribution in flow heat exchangers, etc.

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Kim, NH. Comparison of the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of fin-and-tube heat exchangers having smooth or herringbone wave fins on 12.7 mm outer diameter tubes. J Mech Sci Technol 35, 4747–4756 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0940-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0940-2

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